Why ‘Unboxing Experience’ Videos are Important in the Packaging Industry

One factor that affects a modern customer’s purchasing decision is convenience. For example, if they want to buy new kitchenware, they’ll first look at online stores. Online shopping has allowed consumers to purchase items without leaving their homes, driving to the store, and spending hours browsing through aisles.

Nowadays, you can just head to an e-commerce website, add a product to your cart, and wait for the parcel to arrive at your doorstep. Online shopping is so popular that e-commerce sales are predicted to hit the all-time high, trillion-dollar year in 2022.

With the industry booming, numerous brands compete intensely to acquire customers’ attention. Your brand probably belongs to many businesses utilizing different marketing tricks and discounts to attract audiences. To highlight your brand and ensure you stand out from your competition, you should hop on marketing trends while they’re hot. The “unboxing experience” is one of these trends.

What is the unboxing trend, and why is it popular?

Simply put, the unboxing experience is the action of taking a product out of the box. You must be thinking, “Why should I care about a customer opening a package?” They get the parcel, slash the box, take the product out, and then use it—end of the journey. Or so you think.

72% of American consumers agree that packaging design plays a big role when selecting a product to buy. The unboxing experience is more than just opening a box. It creates an emotional response between the brand and the customer. It can also determine if a customer will stick around or not.

This experience also provides good content for creators. The trend started during the height of YouTube’s popularity, around the early 2010s. People wanted to share what they bought and see what others were buying, whether it was clothes, gadgets, makeup, or toys. Creators would review the product but slowly reveal it, making packaging an important element of the experience.

Whether primary or secondary, packaging gives the customers a first impression of the product. Unboxing the product is a pivotal moment that decides if it’s worth buying and if the brand is worth returning to. If something is interesting to unbox, likes and views can flood the video.

Since then, users have also shifted to other platforms like Instagram and TikTok when sharing unboxing videos. When influencers, even regular people, share what they’ve bought and seem satisfied with it, it encourages audiences to purchase the product.

Why are unboxing videos important in the packaging industry?

As much as product unboxing is beneficial to brands, it has also become an important aspect of the packaging industry. During the experience, good packaging should elicit a response that will make consumers want to share with their friends about their recent purchase.

Aesthetic packaging can evoke emotions

Packaging can help brands tell the story they want to convey. The narrative is important in communicating why customers should choose your brand over your competitors. If you want the product to appear luxurious, whimsical, or nostalgic, you can utilize packaging.

Simply placing your product in a plain box and bubble wrap doesn’t make your brand interesting or exciting. Since the experience is boring and ordinary, audiences wouldn’t feel like it’s worth filming an unboxing video or sharing it on their social media.

Your packaging should make your audience care about your brand. It should have a “wow factor” that your customers and people in their network will find impressive. When you think about your customers’ unboxing experiences and the emotions they should journey through, you’ll be able to create a powerful brand narrative.

Packaging design is a reflection of corporate values

Consumers are much more conscious of the products they buy, whether they’re ethically sourced or sustainable. If your brand presents itself as environmentally friendly, your product packaging should also reflect that advocacy. Your customers will be disappointed if they receive a package that’s full of single-use plastic. For sustainable packaging, you can use biodegradable packing peanuts, corrugated bubble wrap, or post-consumer recycled plastics.

Unboxing videos don’t only share the best products with attractive packaging. They can also share bad examples. If someone uses your product as one of these examples, your reputation is tarnished. So, make sure you align your brand values with your packaging.

Positive unboxing experience can drive purchasing decisions

For e-commerce companies that don’t have a brick-and-mortar storefront, the only way to physically connect with customers is through their products. Hence, it would be best to use packaging as a marketing tool. It can be a strong selling point, as it reflects the business’s image and delivers a sense of quality.

If influencer marketing is part of your strategy, you should pay attention to how you package your products. Good packaging excites influencers. By building a strong unboxing experience, you can easily build rapport with them. This can encourage them to share your product on their platforms, which can potentially widen your audience reach.

When audiences see that an influencer enjoys unboxing your product, it immediately gives a positive impression, swaying potential customers and turning them into actual buyers.

A 2021 survey shows that 77% of consumers regularly check online reviews when browsing for businesses. Unboxing videos are online reviews in video format. People post these videos to show audiences what they will get when they order a certain product.

Sometimes, they talk about a product for five to fifteen minutes. With this level of exposure, taking an extra mile on packaging can boost your brand’s image and lead to more sales.

Develop a dedicated unboxing experience

Packaging is a necessity for e-commerce companies. While its main purpose is to keep your products safe during transport, packaging has become more than that in recent years. It has turned into an important connection between brands and customers. This connection is referred to as the unboxing experience.

Product unboxing videos have paved the way for brands to shift their focus on improving product packaging. As a brand, you can now use unboxing videos as a marketing tool to make your customers engaged. This marketing trend helps you show more appreciation on the packaging side of businesses. Packaging is no longer a dismissible aspect of the company but a way to improve customer experience and retention.

About the author

Adam Peek is a father of 5, husband of 1. He is also the host of the People of Packaging podcast and a VP at Meyers Printing. His passion for changing the world has also led him to be a sustainability consultant, sales trainer, global keynote speaker/preacher, soon to be Children’s Book author…and a part time rapper.

Tell us your story

Would you like to write for nichemarket just like Adam has? Find out how to submit a guest post and when you're ready, you can contact us.

Are you looking to promote your business?

South African businesses can create your free business listing on nichemarket. The more information you provide about your business, the easier it will be for your customers to find you online. 

Registering with nichemarket is easy; all you will need to do is head over to our sign up form and follow the instructions. If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles.

• How to create a nichemarketer profile
• How to create a nichemarket business listing

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have time to spare why not check out these related posts and dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is youtube marketing

• How To Optimise YouTube Videos For SEO
• How To Use YouTube To Sell Your Products
• YouTube arrives late to the party by rolling out its own stories
• YouTube Launches Live TV Streaming Service
• 3 Secrets of Super Successful Video Marketing

Tags: Unboxing, Retail, Marketing, Guest Post